Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
The catalog is not google they could be a useful tool to help you find things
Here are the top tips for helping you use the the library catalog effectively
When searching the rcc library catalog, use the following tips to get
the most out of your search
tip number one less is more
if you know how to spell one or two words correctly
for example an author's last name search that
for example just meyer for stephanie meyer
the catalog does not know how to recommend an alternate spelling so you have to be precise
If you aren't sure, you can always use google to check your spelling
when searching by title it's best to use the words in the title your share of and
that you know how to spell
adding a misspelled word or an incorrect word will yield zero results
when in doubt leave it out
tip number two
use nouns - person place or things
if you know the title of the book or movie
more or less enter the nouns or at least those you know how to spell correctly
and forget the prepositions and articles - those little words
for example in a recent search for the title Narrow Road to the Interior
the patron entered Narrow Road of the Interior which yielded no results
a better method is to enter Narrow Road Interior which finds the book
tip number three no sentences
Again use nouns rather than sentences
don't say an article about people with a disability
Oh wait, try using the databases to find articles not the catalog
If you do decide you want a book or dvd on the topic try disabilities or search
for a specific disability
Tip number four
no punctuation
don't bother with apostrophes, quotation marks, capitalization, colons or commas
you'll get the same results without the punctuation
Tip number five: advanced search
If you only want books
you might want to click on the advanced search tab in the library catalog
from the drop-down menu next to more collections, choose circulating books
then simply enter your search terms as usual in the search box at the top
the search results will yield only books
This way you won't see DVDs or streaming videos in your results
finally tip number six: ask for help
there are several ways to ask us
you can you use the online chat
send us an e-mail, text us, call us
and of course
talk to us in person at the reference desk